Victorians batter Vikings

Adnan Hadi
14th November, 2017 10:12:14

A dominating Comilla Victorians triumphed over Chittagong Vikings by 6 wickets in their Bangladesh Premier League T20 match on Tuesday.

National cricketer Tamim Iqbal wore Comilla jersey for the first time this season, following a recovery from a thigh injury he sustained during the South Africa tour.

However, Comilla team management continued with Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi as captain for their side.

Comilla restricted Chittagong to 139 for 4 after Comilla won the toss and sent Chittagong to bat first.

Openers Luke Ronchi and Soumya Sarkar got their side off to a quick start, but Ronchi failed to read a full delivery from Mohammad Saifuddin and he was dismissed on 30.

Soumya (30 off 32), Dilshan Munaweera (19 off 25) and Sikandar Raza (20 off 24) were important through the middle of the innings, but their departures signaled a shift in momentum.

Leg spinner Rashid Khan was the pick of the Victorians bowlers with 1 for 17 from his four overs, continuing his spectacular bowling in BPL.

Nabi, who took 1 wicket conceding 19 runs from three overs, and Saifuddin (1/30 from four overs) were also crucial as Comilla effectively applied the brakes late in the innings.

Chasing a target of 140, Tamim and Litton Kumar Das opened for Comilla but Tamim was missing his rhythm and he became the first victim of Chittagong. Tamim (4 off 10) was sent back to pavilion in the third over by Dilshan Munaweera and caught by Subashis Roy.

Litton looked confident but he was bowled on 21 runs by Sri Lankan off-spinner Munaweera.

But top order batsmen Imrul Kayes and Jos Buttler build up the much needed resistance for Comilla and paired up for a 74-run stand in the third wicket.

Chittagong used seven bowlers to break the partnership but all the bowlers remained ineffective until 16th over when Sunzamul Islam took the wicket of Imrul. Sunzamul also bagged the wicket of Buttler in 18th over.

However, Comilla’s Marlon Samuels and Nabi easily reached the target with six wickets and 11 balls in hand.